Measurement of the atmospheric νμ energy spectrum from 100 GeV to 200 TeV with the ANTARES telescope

Adrian-Martinez, S.; Albert, A.; Al Samarai, I.; Andre, M.; Anghinolfi, M.; Anton, G.; Anvar, S.; Ardid, M.; Astraatmadja, T.; Aubert, J. -J.; Baret, B.; Barrios-Marti, J.; Basa, S.; Bertin, V.; Biagi, S.; Bigongiari, C.; Bogazzi, C.; Bouhou, B.; Bouwhuis, M. C.; Bruijn, R.; Brunner, J.; Busto, J.; Capone, A.; Caramete, L.; Carloganu, C.; Carr, J.; Cecchini, S.; Charif, Z.; Charvis, P.; Chiarusi, T.; Circella, M.; Classen, F.; Core, L.; Costantini, H.; Coyle, P.; Creusot, A.; Curtil, C.; Dekeyser, I.; Deschamps, A.; De Bonis, G.; Decowski, M. P.; Distefano, C.; Donzaud, C.; Dornic, D.; Dorosti, Q.; Drouhin, D.; Dumas, A.; Eberl, T.; Emanuele, U.; Enzenhofer, A.; Ernenwein, J. -P.; Escoffier, S.; Fehn, K.; Fermani, P.; Flaminio, V.; Folger, F.; Fritsch, U.; Fusco, L. A.; Galata, S.; Gay, P.; Geisselsoder, S.; Geyer, K.; Giacomelli, G.; Giordano, V.; Gleixner, A.; Gomez-Gonzalez, J. P.; Graf, K.; Guillard, G.; van Haren, H.; Heijboer, A. J.; Hello, Y.; Hernandez-Rey, J. J.; Herold, B.; Hoßl, J.; James, C. W.; de Jong, M.; Kadler, M.; Kalekin, O.; Kappes, A.; Katz, U.; Kooijman, P.; Kouchner, A.; Kreykenbohm, I.; Kulikovskiy, V.; Lahmann, R.; Lambard, E.; Lambard, G.; Larosa, G.; Lattuada, D.; Lefevre, D.; Leonora, E.; Lo Presti, D.; Loehner, H.; Loucatos, S.; Louis, F.; Mangano, S.; Marcelin, M.; Margiotta, A.; Martinez-Mora, J. A.; Martini, S.; Michael, T.; Montaruli, T.; Morganti, M.; Motz, H.; Mueller, C.; Neff, M.; Nezri, E.; Palioselitis, D.; Pavalas, G. E.; Perrina, C.; Piattelli, P.; Popa, V.; Pradier, T.; Racca, C.; Richter, R.; Riviere, C.; Robert, A.; Roensch, K.; Rostovtsev, A.; Samtleben, D. F. E.; Sanguineti, M.; Sapienza, P.; Schmid, J.; Schnabel, J.; Schulte, S.; Schussler, F.; Seitz, T.; Shanidze, R.; Sieger, C.; Simeone, F.; Spies, A.; Spurio, M.; Steijger, J. J. M.; Stolarczyk, T.; Sanchez-Losa, A.; Taiuti, M.; Tamburini, C.; Tayalati, Y.; Trovato, A.; Vallage, B.; Vallee, C.; Van Elewyck, V.; Vernin, P.; Visser, E.; Wagner, S.; Wilms, J.; de Wolf, E.; Yatkin, K.; Yepes, H.; Zornoza, J. D.; Zuniga, J.

doi:10.1140/epjc/s10052-013-2606-4

Atmospheric neutrinos are produced during cascades initiated by the interaction of primary cosmic rays with air nuclei. In this paper, a measurement of the atmospheric νμ + ν̄μ energy spectrum in the energy range 0.1-200 TeV is presented, using data collected by the ANTARES underwater neutrino telescope from 2008 to 2011. Overall, the measured flux is ~25 % higher than predicted by the conventional neutrino flux, and compatible with the measurements reported in ice. The flux is compatible with a single power-law dependence with spectral index γmeas=3.58±0.12. With the present statistics the contribution of prompt neutrinos cannot be established. © 2013 The Author(s).